1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to mobile-terminal platform systems, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to mobile-terminal platform systems that are readily scalable with respect to both access services and application services.
2. History of Related Art
Since cellular telecommunications systems were first introduced in the 1980's, mobile terminals utilized in the cellular telecommunications systems have become increasingly complex. Mobile terminals were initially designed to primarily provide voice telephony services. In later years, mobile terminals were developed that also included the ability to transfer user data not related to that of a voice telephone call. Such user data included, for example, data to be transferred over a dial-up network connection initiated via a personal computer.
Currently, so-called third generation (3G) systems are being developed. 3G systems combine high-speed access with traditional voice communications and provide a user with access to internet browsing, streaming audio/video, positioning, video conferencing, as well as many other capabilities other than traditional voice telephony.
The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was established in an effort to ensure compatibility among several 3G systems being developed around the world. The Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) is being developed by 3GPP to provide a 3G system that includes terrestrial and satellite systems capable of delivering voice, data, and multimedia anywhere in the world.
The drastically-increased functionality that is being included in cellular telecommunications systems via the 3GPP standardization has placed substantial demands on mobile-terminal developers to be used in the cellular telecommunications systems. This demand is exacerbated by the fact that a mobile terminal is a so-called resource-scarce environment that is limited in size, memory, and power. Mobile-terminal developers have traditionally designed, fabricated, and marketed substantially-complete mobile terminals that include all of the hardware and software needed for basic terminal operation, as well as the hardware and software needed to provide the features and capabilities desired by the developer or a particular user based upon their perception of market needs. As market demand has increased for mobile terminals with additional capabilities not traditionally found in mobile terminals, such as, for example, multimedia, including cameraphone features, mp3 players, videophony features, short range wireless communication features, such as, for example, BLUETOOTH, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity, the traditional mobile-terminal design, fabrication, and marketing approaches have not been able to provide the flexibility to quickly adapt to rapid changes in market demands or satisfy the diverse requirements of multiple users.
There is, accordingly, a need for a method of and system for a scalable mobile-terminal platform that addresses the demands discussed above.